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Travel & Adventure Guides

Past stories ------ Summer 2006 ------ Table of Contents Canadian Winery Destinations Otters of Kyuquot Sound Fishing in the Prairies Moncton - 3 Great Day Trips Sylvia Forest - Mountain Guide Yukon River Quest Path to Paradise A Century of Summits Mina Hubbard's Journey Tent Buyer's Guide Climbing Della Falls ------ Winter 2005 ------ Table of Contents 10 Best Mountain Destinations Affordable Adventures Spa Holidays Snow Shelters David Marra - The Ice Man Adventure Travel Insurance Tempest in Tofino ------ Summer 2005 ------ Table of Contents Dealing With Mosquitos Search for the Freshwater Sea Girls On Top Journal Astronomy Ottawa - 3 Great Day Trips Seabound Grasslands National Park Sugar Bush Country Hallowed Home of the Haida ------ Winter 2004 ------ Table of Contents Cross Country Skiing Snowshoeing Dogsledding in the Yukon Snowmobiling Winter Photography Mountains as Water Towers Knapsacks Explained Contributors ------ Summer 2004 ------ Table of Contents Thor Peak Rocky Mountain Teahouses Canoeing in Northern Sask. Fantastic Fundy Destinations Summer Stargazing Kayaking the Great Lakes Adele Frizzell - Adventure Racer BC Mountaineering Hiking Shoes Explained Exploring Nootka Sound

Thirty years ago, few people looked beyond their old Boy Scout canvas rucksack or their external frame pack — a multi-pocketed nylon bag attached to a teetering rectangular aluminum-tubing frame. Problem was, many early packs placed most of the load on the shoulders, sending the heavily burdened hiker into the wild with a hunched-over posture and a gimpy gait. Many adventurers came home with a sore neck and aching shoulder muscles.

Today's packs, however, are good for your back. Whether it's a day pack for lighter loads, a specially designed sport pack for such activities as snowboarding, climbing or skiing or a frame pack for multi-day excursions, the best picks among packs are comfortable because they're designed to shift the load to your lower body. New design features and sophisticated weight-shifting suspension systems make it easier and safer to carry a load, which reduces the risk of hikers losing their balance on a narrow path or at a higher elevation. "A pack must distribute weight so as to carry the load as close as possible to the user's centre of gravity," says Dr. Dan Yaron, a chiropractor and health and education expert for Obus Forme Ltd., a Toronto firm that recently introduced a line of ergonomic day packs. "It needs to stabilize the load so it moves with the body, not against it. It shouldn't adver-sely affect the user's gait."

Here's a checklist of four key features geared to comfort and support that are worthy of consideration if you are in the market for a new backpack this season.

Frame
In Canada, packs with aluminum or carbon-fibre frames inside the pack body have largely replaced rigid external frames. (External-frame packs are still available here and are popular in the United States, but they're designed to carry very large loads and are typically used by adventurers lugging weeks of supplies to remote locations.) In conjunction with a hip belt, the frame transfers weight from the upper body to the hips and legs, and this happens most effectively when the frame is roughly the same length as your back. You can buy the best pack in the world, but if you've created a misfit between the length of the pack and the length of your torso, you're heading for trouble.

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Pack body
A feeling of comfort-on-the-move is the first thing you'll notice about state-of-the-art packs, which are narrower and longer compared with packs of yore. Among large-capacity (over 70 litres) internal-frame models, this refinement helps keep you centred when you walk and reduces the number of annoying snags from tree branches or rocks. To accommodate your stuff, these packs typically feature a top-loading, upper main compartment and a lower sleeping-bag compartment. The better brands offer packs tailored for men and women. Most also have padded backs that allow air to circulate and nylon-webbing compression straps on the sides that let you cinch smaller loads close to your torso. While these features are useful and will increase your comfort, beware of other impressive-looking but unnecessary straps, zippers and pockets. Many experts maintain that such bells and whistles only create more weight and offer extra parts which can break down and cause a major headache in the wild. Waterproofing, believe it or not, is not a standard feature. So you'll need to look for it specifically, or buy a rain cover.

Waist belts
The Cadillac of waist belts will place soft foam next to your hips and firmer foam on the outside, all backed by a moulded thermal plastic outer sheath. Belt contouring is critical too, especially in a woman's pack. Make sure there are no pressure points on the hips, as these can quickly turn to numbing aches and pains after a few hours on the trail with the belt snugly buckled.

Shoulder straps
Padding in the shoulder straps should be somewhat firm — not soft — or they'll squish out of shape and dig into your shoulders. Many pack aficionados prefer contoured collar-cut, or S-cut, straps that follow the line of the neck and collarbone, positioning the straps across the chest. Overnight and sport packs often have sternum straps that keep the shoulder straps in place. It's a great feature for velocity sports, such as snowboarding or even cross-country skiing, because it prevents the pack from wagging side to side.

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Alec Ross is a freelance writer living in Kingston, Ont.

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